


Sitting With You Don't Cost Nothin'

by CookiezIV



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Greg and Pearl, Steven Universe - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-08-20 09:00:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8243746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CookiezIV/pseuds/CookiezIV
Summary: What started as an innocent conversation about music paves the way to a larger and scarier topic--the conflict between Greg and Pearl. But Greg is determined to get through to his magical girlfriend’s buddies, especially the seemingly stuck-up gem.





	

**Author's Note:**

> If you have patience, something good is bound to happen--but not without sacrifice.

“Why are we here, again?” Pearl asked. The look in her eyes made it very clear that she’d rather be somewhere else, with someone else. Preferably Rose Quartz.

Garnet lifted up the guitar-keyboard hybrid strapped around her neck. “Because Greg has something to show us.”

“Yeah. I figured I’d show you guys how to play music.” Greg strummed a c chord on his guitar for emphasis, grinning at the confused look on Pearl’s face. “You know, when you make sounds with an instrument because it sounds cool. I figured we could maybe start a band. Rose thought it was a good idea.”

Pearl didn’t respond, just scrunched up her face more than Greg thought should be possible. Garnet simply gave him a thumbs up.

“I can’t believe you’ve never learned before,” Greg continued, unfazed. I mean, you guys have been here for, what, a thousand years?”

“Five thousand,” Pearl corrected.

“Man, you guys are old.” Greg scratched his head. “So how old is Rose, exactly?”

Pearl smirked. “Way too old for a simple human like you.”

Before Greg could figure out how to respond to that, there was a loud smashing noise from the storage unit. He jumped up, dropped his guitar, and bolted to the source without a goodbye or backwards glance to the two gems. Past experiences had taught him that gem monsters really liked his stuff—he had a suspicion that Rose had hidden something magical amid all the useless junk—so when it came to his storage he always assumed the worst. 

Instead of a monster he found a small purple gem who had apparently just discovered the joy of playing the drum kit—if what she was doing could be called playing.

“Greg, check this out!” Amethyst yelled, bringing the drum sticks down hard on the instrument. “I think it’s some kind of weird human thing!”

“Kind of.” Greg crossed the distance to the instrument. “It’s called a drum and it’s used for making music.” 

Amethyst let out a cry of delight and hit the drum again. Greg flinched as the the stick made a loud cracking noise. “But try to be gentle.”

Amethyst obliged, then actually stepped down from the cushy seat, which surprised Greg. Usually she listened to nobody unless they bribed her with Pop Pops. And he almost never had those on hand, because they were practically one hundred percent sugar (were chips even supposed to have sugar?). 

“Isn’t music what you were doing when you met Rose?” Amethyst asked.

“Yeah. But music can be anything. You were just creating music.”

“Uh, no I wasn’t. I was hitting stuff with a stick.”

“That’s still music.”

Amethyst grinned. “Then I like it!”

Greg smiled back, but then his face fell. “Pearl doesn’t get it.”

The purple gem was decidedly blunt with her next words. “That’s probably because she doesn’t like you.”

“I—where do you get that idea?” It sounded lame, even to him. But it was easier to pretend that Pearl was just cold and unfriendly to everyone, that she’d come around eventually, that she wasn’t jealous because he’d taken away the person she’d loved for thousands of years. He really did want to be friends with her.

“It’s because you like Rose.” Amethyst explained, echoing his thoughts. “But she hates you more than all the other ones. I don’t really know why.” 

Greg couldn’t help but take some small satisfaction out of the fact that Pearl considered him a bigger threat than all of Rose’s past lovers.

“I guess,” he said. “But I still wish she’d come around.”

“You should just tell her you want to be friends with her.”

Greg toyed with his hair. The very idea terrified him. “I don’t know how.”

Amethyst made a thinking face, then a light seemed to turn on in her eyes. “Oh, I have an idea! We can practice! I’ll be Pearl!”

Greg shielded his eyes as a bright purple flash lit up the storage unit. “What in the—”

He stopped. In front of him was Pearl—but purple? Oh, yeah. This was that thing the gems called shapeshifting. He never really got used to it, but Amethyst seemed to have an affinity for it, more than Garnet, Pearl, and Rose combined. 

The gem giggled, twisting Pearl’s features into a smile. To Greg it looked very out of place. “You should see the look on your face!” 

Greg sighed. “Look, I appreciate the effort, but I don’t think this is going to work.”

The smile faded from Amethyst’s face. “Why not?”

“Because—well, Pearl hates me and I don’t think that’s ever going to change.”

“Hey, I know Pearl seems all grumpy and mean but she’s actually really nice all of the time. Most of the time. But the point is, even if it doesn’t go the way you want it to at least she’ll know you care. And that’s more important.”

“Wow,” Greg said. “That was quite a speech.”

“Yeah, well.” Amethyst grinned. “I have my moments. So, are you in?”

Greg wanted her to be right about the fact that Pearl would appreciate the effort, but he found it hard to believe. Maybe he should still try, but…

“I think it’s better just to give up,” Greg said and turned to walk away.

He barely heard the gem move, but suddenly another Greg was standing in his way. The real Greg flinched back and tripped over one of the drum sticks Amethyst had dropped on the ground. He changed his mind. Shape shifting was downright creepy, especially if it was your appearance that was being mimicked.

“Stop that!” Greg protested.

“No.” Amethyst said. “You’re being silly.”

Greg stayed where he was. “No, I’m not! Pearl hates me and that’s never going to change until I’m dead!”

Amethyst put her hands on her hips and adopted an expression of self pity. “See, this is what’s on your face right now. ‘Pearl hates me.’ ‘I think it’s better to give up.’”

Greg reached up to touch his face and realized all his muscles were tense. He tried to let his features relax. If his expression really did look like Amethyst was saying it did, he needed to let it go. 

“Okay, I’m sorry. But, I don’t think I can do it now. Maybe another time.”

Amethyst seemed to consider. Then she smiled and shifted back into her normal shape. “Okay, deal. I’m gonna go see if Garnet has any Pop Pops.” She reached down to help him up. The gesture was a little awkward considering she was so small, but Greg was surprised as how strong and steady her grip felt.

“Why do you like those chips so much?” he said. “You probably shouldn’t be eating them.”

“Same with motor oil, but I eat it anyway.” The gem shrugged and left before Greg could tell her that was even worse.

He stayed on the ground for a moment, staring at nothing in particular, then picked himself up and turned to face the exit.

What could I say to Pearl that would make her forgive me? Hey, sorry for taking away your alien space rock crush? No, that sounded ridiculous. Why do you hate me so much? Definitely not, that just sounded mopey. Pearl, we need to talk. A good start, but what would come after?

Talking to people was not Greg’s forte. Although prone to the occasional profound comment, he never gave long emotional speeches or thought of himself as particularly tactful. It had never bothered him before, but now he wished he were better with people, or gems, or whatever.

He wondered what Pearl’s real personality was like. From what the other gems had told him, she seemed to pride herself on her freedom, enjoy dancing and dangering things like sword fighting, and apparently stopped just short of worshipping Rose Quartz. That last offhand comment from Amethyst hadn’t made him feel any more comfortable with the whole situation. Either way, it was obvious enough in her speech and body language, and the way she followed Rose around like a lost puppy. But those other qualities Greg would most likely never see for himself. 

Not that he doubted she had good qualities. If Rose had been together with her for so many years, she must be a very special gem. But then again, Rose loved everybody. Which also made Greg uncomfortable.

Everything was very complicated. Too complicated. Ever since Rose had shown up at his rock concert, Greg’s life had been turned upside down and ripped at the seams. Things he’d known about socializing, how to treat other people, even the reason for his own existence turned out to be invalid. He had gone from a simple life of music and tolerating his horrible manager Marty to having to deal with complicated social issues, not to mention the stress of dating a magical gem rebel from another planet who scarcely knew the first thing about human relationships. As a result, he was always hopelessly confused.

Greg took a step out of the storage unit and bumped into something red and solid. 

“Oh, hey Garnet.”

“Greg.” As always the gem spoke very little. 

Greg started to sweat under Garnet’s scrutinizing gaze. He couldn’t actually see her eyes under her dark visor, but he had a feeling they were fixed on his face. “Um… Is there anything you need? Amethyst just went to ask you for some Pop Pops.”

“I hate those things.”

“Right, well, uh…”

“You need to talk to Pearl.”

Greg stayed silent.

“You think she’s treating you unfairly. Maybe she is. But you need to make an effort to see through her eyes too. Until you do, your argument will not end.”

Greg tried to figure out what that meant. See through Pearl’s eyes? He could see clearly enough to know that there was no way that was going to be possible. 

“Just imagine how she feels.” 

Like a light turning on, Greg had a thought. The gems had to be just as confused as he was—probably worse. This wasn’t even their planet. Everything they’d known was wrong here, too. Greg tried to put himself in Pearl’s shoes. If he had been a gem, and he and Rose had gone to another planet in another galaxy and fought for its independance together, only to have a young naive human take her away from him… well, he’d be pretty mad. And jealous. And feel betrayed. And then he understood. She wasn’t only angry at him. She was confused as to why Rose had thrown her away so indifferently after thousands of years together. But Rose was what she lived for. She couldn’t bring herself to be mad at her, so she projected all those feelings onto Greg. He was the living reminder that Rose loved someone else, an unbearable thought, and so he became her punching bag.

Amethyst was right. He needed to talk to Pearl.

“I think I get it now,” Greg told Garnet. “I’m going to go tell Pearl that—”

“I know.” Her lips maybe twitched up into a smile, but Greg couldn’t really tell. “I can see what you’re going to say. You’ll find her on the beach by the temple.”

“Um, thanks,” Greg said. “How do you…?”

The gem was already walking away.

 

 

Greg found Pearl right where Garnet had said he would. She was sitting on her knees, hands folded neatly on her lap, staring out into the ocean sunset. She didn’t seem to notice him coming up behind her. He hesitated.

Then he heard a sigh. “Why are you here?”

Greg gulped; no turning back now.

“I—I thought we should talk.”

Another sigh, this time almost bordering a scowl. “There’s absolutely nothing to talk about.”

“Yes, there is.” Ignoring her not-so-small noise of distaste, he plopped down into the sand next to her. “It’s about Rose.”

“Of course it is.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Pearl didn’t answer and didn’t look at Greg’s face. He bravely pushed on.

“Anyway, I think I understand now. Um, why you hate me.” An awkward cough from Greg, more silence from Pearl. “It’s not just because I’m dating Rose. It’s because she’s dating me.”

At this Pearl tensed—for a moment she looked like she was about to jump up. She unfolded her hands and started to push herself to her feet.

“Wait! I—I,” Greg struggled. He searched his mind for something that might make her stay. “We need to get over this. Imagine what this is doing to Rose!”

At this Pearl stopped, sat back down, but still kept her face tipped to the side. “Go on. I’m listening.”

“I think you should talk to Rose. Tell her what’s wrong.”

“And why would you want me to do that? So she would push me away even more?” Pearl suddenly sounded so lonely and afraid that Greg wanted to hug her, although she probably wouldn’t like that. The problem, he knew, was that she found it impossible to let go of her ancient gem ways. While the other gems, particularly Amethyst and Rose, found it easy to socialize with humans, Pearl felt isolated, with the other four gems (five? Greg wasn’t sure if he should include both parts of Garnet) as her only friends.

“Because, well, I want to do the right thing,” Greg answered. 

Suddenly Pearl turned to face him for the first time. Her face was afraid but defiant. “Explain humans to me.”

“W-wha? What about us?”

“The way you act against your own interests. How you’re always helping others, even if they don’t treat you well in return. Why do you sacrifice so much when you have so little time on this Earth? Why are you trying so hard with me?” Her voice rose to a crescendo, shifting into a sound almost like a wail.

Greg thought long and hard. “I don’t know,” he finally told Pearl. “I don’t think there is a reason. On Earth, everything is unpredictable. People are always changing. And I thought maybe you could change, too.”

“I’m sorry.” Pearl finally stood up. “But I can’t. It’s not in my nature. Besides, soon you’ll be long gone.”

Greg stayed on the beach for a long time after Pearl left. At some point he heard Rose sit down next to him. 

“What’s wrong?”

“I—” he thought about telling her everything that had happened between him and Pearl, how they could never get along, how Pearl had openly rejected his friendship and made hurtful comments. But for some reason he couldn’t do it. How could he insult someone she loved? So instead he simply said, “I don’t know.”

“That’s alright.” Rose took his hand. “I don’t know anything anymore either. Earth is so confusing. But if we be patient, something good is bound to happen.”

“Yeah.” Greg stared into the horizon. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

Time flew after that. He and Rose Quartz grew closer and closer, and then she decided she wanted a baby. Pearl stopped talking to him altogether. Then the baby was born, and Rose was gone. Greg cried, cried for days and days. He and Amethyst started binge watching Little Butler to try to fill the Rose-shaped void in their lives. He watched as Amethyst struggled to adapt to her new role as an adult. She had played the little kid of the family for so long, but now that Rose wasn’t there to mother her she was forced to change. Garnet’s outfit grew darker and darker—as the new leader of the Crystal Gems she must feel like she couldn’t fill Rose’s footsteps. Pearl went missing for long periods of time. Steven grew, and while Greg knew Amethyst and Garnet loved the little kid, Pearl wouldn’t even speak to him. And then Steven grew old enough to talk to Pearl, and she realized that he wasn’t Rose, and wasn’t Greg, and she ever so slowly warmed up to him. 

At the age of eight Steven moved in with the gems, and that was hard for Greg, but he recognized it as necessary. Greg grew older, but never forgot Rose. Steven eventually found his place in the group of gems, but bad things started happening. Homeworld gems coming to check on something that was apparently called the cluster, a giant fusion terrorizing the small band of earth rebels. Then, amid all the chaos, there was a trip to Empire city and Steven insisted on bringing Pearl. It started out well enough, but then it became apparent that she was remembering Rose—and Greg, Greg didn’t know what to do. But Steven, that wonderful, kind kid who always believed in everyone, just like his mother, told the two of them that they had something in common—they both loved him. Pearl finally let go of the past, and Greg dropped the burden of knowing someone important to his son hated him.

And now Greg sat on that same beach as so long ago. The sunset flared out over the water, and the shadow of Rose laughing slowly faded away next to him, replaced by the delicate frame of Pearl. They sat together, the same as before, but this time contentedly. 

“Bright sunny day,” he heard her sing quietly. “Don’t cost nothing.”

“Sitting with you,” Greg sang, relaxing on the warm sand. “Don’t cost nothin’.”

Pearl smiled. “I think I finally understand your ‘music.’”

By the time the sun finally set, the two were still there, watching the twinkling stars. They were ready to move on at last.


End file.
